Barings Snags WA Large Format Retail for Record $74m

Multinational asset managers Barings has paid $74 million for a large format retail centre near Perth in the biggest transaction for the subsector this year.

Joondalup Square comprises 13,216sq m of gross leased area across three freestanding buildings with a combined total site area of 27,598sq m.

The fully leased centre about 31km by road north of Perth has a WALE of 6.1 years by income.

It comprises 19 tenants, predominantly national and ASX-listed companies, including Amart Furniture, Forty Winks, Beacon Lighting, Bedshed, Trek, Anytime Fitness, PetO, and Barbeques Galore; and is co-located with a Bunnings Warehouse.

Colliers and Cygnet West jointly brought the asset to market on behalf of a private investor.

“The centre is a modern, high-quality, warehouse retail centre strategically located in the major retail and commercial hub of Joondalup, one of Perth’s fastest-growing precincts with a younger, affluent demographic representing a strong market for large format retail tenants,” Barings said in a statement.

The centre was put to the market in September.

Large format retail has been a sought-after asset class throughout 2024, with solid performances driving competition for the few centre to be offered for sale during the year.

In October Banjo Bond’s Cosgrove Group acquired an LFR asset at Warners Bay near Newcastle in NSW for $56.5 million from HomeCo Daily Needs REIT in a deal brokered by Colliers.

It was the second between the parties after the sale of a 23,400sq m large format retail centre at Midland in WA last year for $74.75 million.

Also in the subsector in the West, last week Arise revealed plans for a HomeHQ centre for large-scale bulky goods at Busselton, 220km by road from the WA capital, with a GFA of 48,235 square metres.

The precinct, planned for Lot 11 and part of Lot 803 at Chapman Hill Road, would include eight buildings from 2510sq m to 14,692sq m as well as 1230 car parking bays.